About 100km from Hanoi and located besides Bieu Mountain, the over-500-year Sung village in Cao Son commune, Da Bac district, is home to a Dao Tien ethnic community. With support from the Action on Poverty (AOP) organisation, the Da Bac Community-based Tourism JSC has carried out the community-based tourism model in the village. The village of Dao Tien ethnic people officially opened to tourists in 2017.
Tourists learn and try the craft of beeswax drawing in Sung village of Cao Son commune, Da Bac district.
Community-based tourism activities in Sung village have attracted a large number of travellers, especially foreigners, thanks to the untouched natural beauty and unique culture. Aside from some typical tourism and service products like going sightseeing, exploring Sung Cave, and picking shan tuyet tea buds, community-based tourism here also offers products linked with traditional crafts, thus meeting travellers’ increasingly diverse exploring and experiencing demand.
Ly Van Quy, head of the medicinal material group in Sung village, said that local residents had previously depended on the diverse source of materials in nature to create remedies used in their families. Benefiting from the AOP’s sustainable community-based tourism development project, a traditional medicine group was established in the village and received training as well as financial aid to build workshops, design packages, and develop new products to sustainably tap into local resources and improve local medicinal products’ competitiveness.
The group has launched four products, namely sweet jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) tea, bath herbs, herbal mosquito repellent spray, and red ginger massage solution, he noted.
Meanwhile, the production of "do” paper used to be eroded seriously, and there was only one household involved in this craft. However, the village is home to a large area of materials for making "do” paper, which is why the sustainable community-based tourism development project decided to support Dao Tien ethnic people here to uphold the traditional craft. As a result, a cooperative group for "do” paper production was set up in Sung to develop related products
In addition, the crafts of dyeing fabrics indigo, drawing beeswax on clothes, and making brocades have also been revitalised. The brocade making group now gathers 11 women who were trained in using sewing machines, Japan’s Shibori dyeing technique, and designing to create more diverse and fashionable products to meet tourists’ taste.
Ly Sao Mai, a coordinator at the Da Bac Community-based Tourism JSC in Sung village, said that traditional crafts are being preserved and brought into play to create more diverse and attractive tourism products. At the same time, jobs have been diversified to attract more workers, thus raising income and ensuring stable livelihoods for locals.
She went on to say that more than 80% of the local households are engaging in accommodation, eating, tour guide, and musical performance services, along with brocade, medicinal material, and "do” paper production. The groups of traditional crafts, especially "do” paper and brocade making, now frequently serve visitors coming to explore and experience.
Nguyen Hai Yen, a tourist from Hanoi, said she was very impressed with an ethnic minority village located besides Hoa Binh Lake where the long-standing lifestyle, large forest, and fresh air are still maintained. During the two-day stay in this community-based tourism village, she gained many memorable experiences and learned much more about traditional crafts – one of the unique cultural identities of Dao people. She tried and bought many herbal products such as the massage solution and mosquito repellent as gifts for relatives as she found they are safe, convenient, and useful. A number of such products as handbags, purses, tablecloth, and paintings are also relatively beautiful and have reasonable prices, suitable for tourists to buy as souvenirs.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
The Muong group is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam, primarily found in Hoa Binh province. The Muong people in Hoa Binh boast a rich and diverse cultural treasure that reflects the unique identity of this ethnic group. Accounting for over 63% of the province's population, they have created and preserved numerous distinctive cultural values, contributing to their unique identity. Their cultural heritage is an invaluable asset, at the heart of their national identity, and represents a vibrant spiritual life that must be preserved and promoted in today’s modern world.
For generations, the ethnic communities of Hoa Binh province, particularly the Muong people, have preserved vibrant festivals deeply intertwined with the region’s geography, nature, and social traditions. These celebrations enrich Hoa Binh’s spiritual life and cultural identity, reflecting both folk beliefs and the intermingling of ethnic customs. Many of these festivals have endured the test of time, passed down through generations and continuing to thrive today. Among them, the Khai Ha (Going Down to the Field) festival stands out as one of the most significant events of the Muong ethnic group.
Muong calendar, known as sach doi, is an ancient folk knowledge system developed through observations of the movement of the pleiades star. This unique calendar consists of 12 bamboo sticks, each representing a lunar month. Specific days within each month are marked with distinct symbols, guiding locals in determining auspicious and inauspicious days for important activities.
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